#declared vs proclaimed

[ride-thedragon]

Dragonseed Analysis.

Dragonstone vs. Driftmark

I do think that there is a difference cultivated in the nature of where the dragonseeds grow up and how they show emotions and so on. In the show, there seems to be a much larger age difference between the Dragonstone seeds and Driftmark seeds, but within the fire and blood, it isn't made that clear, and I think many envision the eldest of them being in their twenties.

Dragonstone.

So, the foundation of Dragonstone in this narrative is one of Targaryen power. Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White They claim the largest dragons descended from the rulers of the most prosperous time in Westeros. They are clear Valyrians who would've descended from the right of the first night that occurs on Dragonstone. They are a soldier and blacksmith (son), respectively, and the eldest of the dragonseeds. If there were a set standard for Dragonseeds, it would be them.

Driftmark.

From Driftmark, we have Addam and Nettles. (Alyn, too, but he's irrelevant to this). They claim Seasmoke and Sheepstealer, respectively. The dragons they claim play into their stories, Addam claims the dragon of his alleged father Laenor and Nettles is the only person to claim a wild dragon. Both their parentage are contested in the narrative, Addam might be Corlys' son, while Nettles might not be Valyrian at all. Addam is the son of a Captain on Driftmark, and Nettles is an alleged orphan. From their introductions, they set themselves apart in the story, but this distinction plays out with:

Loss

The biggest catalyst for this distinction is loss in the narrative. The seeds from Driftmark lose Driftmark during the Battle of the Gullet. They lost their homes and where they grew up, people they knew and saw. The people from Dragonstone don't have that connection. Jace is also a loss to the two Driftmarkseeds that he isn't shown to be to the Dragonstone ones. Both Addam and Nettles are given clear reactions to his death. Jace would've been a brother to Addam as he'd be seen as his half-brother and would've given him his title. While we don't know why Nettles and Jace would've been close, certain things like shared features and her being the only female dragonseed while he grew up in the company of Rhanea and Baela might answer for it.

Emotion.

So the loss plays into this, Addam and Nettles are said to be upset, Nettles even crying after the Battle and Addam, taking comfort with Coys allegedly.

Ulf and Hugh are celebrating, however, drinking and partying on Dragonstone while the others are having such a clear reaction.

Betrayal.

This is the big one. The Draginstone seeds betray Rhaenyra quite clearly. The Driftmark kids are only accused of their treason, with Addam going out of his way to disprove it.

Ulf and Hugh turn cloaks and fight on the side of the greens, Hugh even goes as far as to proclaim himself King in his own right.

Nettles is accused and sentenced for treason she did not commit no matter the narrative. She did not use spells to bind her dragon and Daemon to her.

Addam is not a traitor, so when he is to be sharply questioned, it's wrongful.

They both escape the narrative by the intervention of Rhaenyra loyalist in some way declaring them loyal.

Close to Loyalty

Thematically, who they run away with the help of and to respectively also plays into this. Daemon ensures Nettles isn't punished for the treason accusations. Corlys ensures Addam escapes before he's captured. Rhaenyra loyalist protect them.

On the other hand, Hugh and Ulf go to Daeron and declare their loyalty to Aegon.

Targaryen and Velayron

The Targaryen narrative through the Dragonstone seeds is that of power and hubris. They gain to the point of forsaking oaths they made and doing whatever benefited them because they are Targaryens.

The Velaryon narrative of the draognseeds is that of defying expectations and the cost of loyalty. One of them dies defending their honour while the other one leaves the narrative entirely unbounded to the loyalty she was held to because either was so heinously questioned.

Conclusion.

This was fun.

[waitingforsecretsouls]

Much as I theoretically understand why fandom glomped onto the possibility of the tragic Daeron and Addam romance, it genuinely doesn't seem like the closest explanation the text itself offers. One of the biggest implications people see for this is the paragraph wondering about Tessarion's motivations for intervening in the Vermithor vs Seasmoke fight:

Vermithor’s size and weight were too much for Seasmoke to contend with, Lord Blackwood told Grand Maester Munkun many years later, and he would surely have torn the silver-grey dragon to pieces…if Tessarion had not fallen from the sky at that very moment to join the fight. Who can know the heart of a dragon? Was it simple bloodlust that drove the Blue Queen to attack? Did the she-dragon come to help one of the combatants? If so, which? Some will claim that the bond between a dragon and dragonrider runs so deep that the beast shares his master’s loves and hates. But who was the ally here, and who the enemy? Fire & Blood Chapter 17: The Dying of the Dragons — Rhaenyra Overthrown

People tend to focus a lot on the love aspect and basically ignore the alternate possibility offered up, which is hate as a motivating force.

As happy as I am for people enjoying the concept of Daeron/Addam, let's acknowledge that they have neither actual on page interactions nor as much as implied aquaintanceship, and GRRM is the opposite of subtle when it comes to "hinting" at these things for implied same sex entanglements. One line about Addam, who canonically served on his mothers trading cogs, having previously traveled as far as Oldtown, or Daeron enjoying spending his off - time at Oldtown's or prior to his fostering King's Landings harbour or shipyards would have been sufficient, but instead there's absolutely nothing.

Whereas Daeron and Hugh Hammer, dragonseed and rider of Vermithor, do have canonical interactions, both on page involving dialogue and implied by their close proximity, that develops into a plot relevant enmity, culminating in Hugh stating he'll claim Daeron's birthright for himself, as rider of the largest surviving dragon, and Daeron approving the Caltrops assassination of Hugh in turn.

With his brother Aemond slain as well, the greens found themselves kingless and leaderless. Prince Daeron stood next in the line of succession. Lord Peake declared that the boy should be proclaimed as Prince of Dragonstone at once; others, believing Aegon II dead, wished to crown him king. The Two Betrayers felt the need of a king as well…but Daeron Targaryen was not the king they wanted. “We need a strong man to lead us, not a boy,” declared Hard Hugh Hammer. “The throne should be mine.” When Bold Jon Roxton demanded to know by what right he presumed to name himself a king, Lord Hammer answered, “The same right as the Conqueror. A dragon.” And truly, with Vhagar dead at last, the oldest and largest living dragon in all Westeros was Vermithor, once the mount of the Old King, now that of Hard Hugh the bastard. Vermithor was thrice the size of Prince Daeron’s she-dragon Tessarion. No man who glimpsed them together could fail to see that Vermithor was a far more fearsome beast. [...] The lords and knights of Oldtown and the Reach were offended by the arrogance of the Betrayer’s claim, however, and none more so than Prince Daeron Targaryen himself, who grew so wroth that he threw a cup of wine into Hard Hugh’s face. (...) Lord Hammer said, “Little boys should be more mannerly when men are speaking. I think your father did not beat you often enough. Take care I do not make up for his lack.” The Two Betrayers took their leave together, and began to make plans for Hammer’s coronation. When seen the next day, Hard Hugh was wearing a crown of black iron, to the fury of Prince Daeron and his trueborn lords and knights.

[...] Though Prince Daeron was not present at the council, the Caltrops (as the conspirators became known) were loath to proceed without his consent and blessing. Owen Fossoway, Lord of Cider Hall, was dispatched under cover of darkness to wake the prince and bring him to the cellar, that the plotters might inform him of their plans. Nor did the once-gentle prince hesitate when Lord Unwin Peake presented him with warrants for the execution of Hard Hugh Hammer and Ulf White, but eagerly affixed his seal. Fire & Blood Chapter 17: The Dying of the Dragons — Rhaenyra Overthrown

Which seams like a far more (meaning: at all) established backdrop for that musing about sharing loves and hates to me.

Tldr; Less "love wins" and more "haterism transcending death" for Daeron the Daring.

[justajsworkshop]

i'm sitting here having this moment of awakening about the unreality of nonfulfillment.

i think about god. i think about ultimate reality. i think about total, absolute fulfillment. i think about the physical, linear self seeing the tiniest sliver of all that is and proclaiming it as, well, all that is.

i asked myself... what if it was never real? the struggle. the dissatisfaction. the waiting. the suffering. the nonfulfillment. what if i declared the unreality of nonfulfillment here and now? what if i accepted the unreality and impossibility of nonfulfillment for myself?

sure, a certain condition has the potential and "right" to exist as part of all that is, but it doesn't have to be real to me. that's the gift of awareness, the ability to focus in on a specific point of all that is. because alone, god is all things but not one specific thing. as I AM awareness, i am the sole creditor of the reality i choose to shape and perceive.

i suddenly feel so powerful over the undesirable. i don't have to come up with a bazillion different narratives to not experience a certain something in an attempt to bypass the inescapability of "notness” not existing. i always felt like i was kinda trying to fool myself: trying to mock god. instead, i just denounce something as real vs. unreal, and it's all, well, kinda surreal. but so is reality.

when i think of something undesirable now, i ask myself, "what if it was never real?" i accept that as truth, and then it's not. because i am reality.

[skaruresonic]

The idw discourse is so bad, I feel caught in the middle because each time I express how bad the storytelling is, in a new issue or how off model the characters are drawn, idw fans gang up on me. But on the other hand I don't want to be associated with the people who think think it's funny to tweet how Flynn should die or make weird assumptions about Stanley being a bad person ? Like that's weird and cruel. Hate their work not them as people.

I just decided to pretend the comic doesn't exist and it helps lol.

I'm sorry that happened to you. Idk if anyone else will tell you that, but I will, because I know how much it sucks.

One time, I saw a guy on Twitter blame us for his inability to criticize the book in what he believed was a much more "balanced" manner without getting harassed by people.

Digest that for a moment. It's our fault for other people's reaction to us. And instead of rubbing his brain cells together for a moment and questioning the reasons why this knee-jerk reaction occurs, or even reflecting on the fact that it occurs at all and perhaps realizing that the call is coming from inside the house, he fell back on old biases and decided it was the haters who were wrong.

The mental gymnastics on display here are unreal.

In this case, I think people are stumbling into the usual fallacious trap of assuming both sides carry equal weight, and thus believe that defaulting to a position of "neutrality" makes them morally superior somehow.

That's kind of what I hate about this fandom - the utter superciliousness. The rotten shit we as a fandom get up to (and no, being a little snarky in a reblog does not count as harassment) while proclaiming love and light uwu. Be nice to everyone, except those freaks over there.

"Neutrality" is in scare quotes here because it's not true neutrality, but a way of posturing to the in-group that you're not Like Us. As demonstrated by my Twitter-user anecdote, people around here don't want to say anything hater-flavored because it risks intense ostracization. That's why you have people jumping down your throat for presenting even mild criticisms. It'd be pathetic if it weren't so annoying.

I'm not talking about people who let well enough alone. I'm talking about centrists who sneer "both sides are bad," as if by distancing themselves from the situation in a smug manner, they're declaring themselves more enlightened than the rest of us.

Honestly, the other side should be just as insulted, but they're not, because this attitude only helps them in the long run.

In reality, this is more like the fishhook situation centrists have with antis vs. proshippers. Saying "this whole thing is stupid" really only benefits antis because they now have grounds to reply, "Yes, this IS stupid, don't you think proshippers are crazy for being upset at something so trivial?" while conveniently omitting the part where antis routinely send proshippers death threats and other heinous material.

Look at it from this angle: the most concrete harm I have seen their side say they've suffered is a deep discomfort and estrangement from the book. Which, yeah. That sucks. But it's also kinda on you to just click away if it makes you uncomfortable.

On the other hand, I have had legitimate crying fits because of horrible messages I received and have told people multiple times about the anon who mocked my recently-deceased mom. Which, unlike clicking away from a blog, I had no choice but to see sometimes because I was still naive enough to believe people would behave themselves in my inbox. In fact, a mutual were recently discussing our anxieties over retaliation should IDW be cancelled. There's stuff about this that you just don't want to think about because dwelling on it will freak you out.

"Both sides are bad" stings, especially in light of knowing the measures I have taken to walk on eggshells and draw proper boundaries. I literally cannot know if someone in this fandom will consider my explanations harassment and dogpiling, so I try not to reblog with commentary. On the reblogging site.

Reflect on how fucked-up that is, to feel uncomfortable adding a tag to someone's fanart because you're worried they might realize you're One of Them(tm) and shun you on that basis alone.

I won't sit here and say I've always been perfect in my conduct, but at the same time, it's just the infuriating experience of double standards all the way down. Somehow it never occurs to them that if I held them to the same standard they hold me, I could call them all out on intellectual dishonesty for refusing to engage with any of our points no matter how calmly or clearly stated because "lol ur just a hater," and tar them with the same brush as those who sent me death threats.

But ofc, things don't work out like that in the calculus of Le Sonic Discourse. It's just a rotten experience to the core.

[md-confessions]

I'd like to throw my hat into the ring on the whole "romantic Nuzi vs QPR Nuzi"

Just stop fighting over this crap.

I've seen it from both sides, saying one is better than the other.

write your AUs and fics for whatever interpretation you want of Nuzi, but accept that it will be a certain way in canon. It's very likely romantic, but even the nuances of how they are in that romantic relationship are bound to be different in canon compared to how people headcanon it.

And just because two characters are in a romantic relationship DOESN'T mean the platonic side of that relationship is lost. They don't have to be making out at all times and declaring their romantic love all the time, they can still be friends. They can still make jokes with each other and laugh or talk about their interests. Just because people focus on the romantic part, doesn't mean they've forgotten the platonic. People can focus on different things and at different times.

I know I've been harsh to the QPR side in this ask, but that's because I've seen a bunch of people in support of that side here that just seem to straight up hate the romantic side and call it bad. Dislike the romantic side all you want, that's fine, but just because you dislike something doesn't make it bad.

And if romantic Nuzi ends up becoming canon, you have to deal with that. That's the decision Liam Vickers made and just because you prefer something else doesn't give you permission to shit on it and call it bad despite it not being objectively bad, and it doesn't give you permission to insult people who support that interpretation.

This goes for every ship. Just because Nuviz is my favorite ship doesn't mean I go around saying my interpretation of the main trio's dynamic is better. I hope Nuviz becomes canon, but that doesn't mean I'll be put off by the show if it doesn't.

And if there are romantic Nuzi fans out there that are actually shitting on QPR Nuzi fans for no good reason (I haven't seen it much but I know it's out there), quit it you babies. It'd be the Nuzi vs Envy thing all over again and I don't think any reasonable person wants that. Accept that other people have other preferred interpretations and stop shoving it down their throat that "I was right, my version is canon." Good for you, now fuck off to the corner so everyone can have fun again. Just because your interpretation is canon does not give you permission to shit on other people's interpretation. I know I said earlier that if romantic Nuzi is canon then the QPR Nuzi fans have to deal with it, but it doesn't mean they have to abandon their interpretation and it doesn't mean you get to insult them and proclaim you are a god amongst men for "getting it right."

TL;DR learn to accept other's opinions rather than imposing yours on other fans and the creators. And do be kind to each other, we're real humans after all, not just profile pictures and walls of text.

And to those who do want their interpretation of Nuzi, romantic or QPR: Write a fic about it. Trust me, it will make your day to write the media you want to see. It's what I'm doing, and I've really enjoyed my interpretation of the main cast despite it being quite different in canon.

In the the end, I just want people to be happy. And if there's anything I've learned over the years, it's that if you stop hating so much, you'll be much happier. I used to hate a lot, and I was a miserable soul. I don't wish that fate on anyone.

Uh, apologizes for the long confession, and again, I apologize to the QPR Nuzi fans for targeting them mainly in this confession. You guys are completely valid and I encourage you to keep shipping them like this regardless of how they are in canon, as long as you don't impose that interpretation on their canon versions. Like I said, write a fic about it. You'll be happier.

(Also I put that TL;DR way too early but I'm too lazy to go back and reformat this. Also, I apologize to the moderator for this blog if I insulted or offended them in anyway, I just wanted to voice my thoughts on this situation so people could maybe chill a little.)

.

[christian-heresies-tournament]

battle 1! descriptions of each below the cut, plus wikipedia links if you would like to read more.

army of mary: guys, the virgin mary got reincarnated in canada in 1921 as a woman named marie-paule giguère. this reincarnated mother of god started a prayer group in the 70s, called the army of mary—as an alternative to the legion of mary, a catholic organization.

her group got recognized by the catholic church, but once she announced her true identity, she and her followers were declared heretical and became independent from the church. in 2007, six nuns in arkansas got excommunicated for their support of the army of mary. our blessed mother died in 2015, but her followers still practice.

antonianism: in the start of the 1700s, a young kongolese noblewoman named beatriz kimpa vita was resurrected as the reincarnation of st. anthony. she returned to the abandoned capital of são salvador (now mbanza-kongo) with her followers to repopulate it, and they successfully established a permanent population in the city. additionally, kimpa vita proclaimed that jesus, mary, and st. francis had all been born in the kongo, that non-kongolese catholic teachings were wrong, and that st. anthony was on the level of a “second God.” kimpa vita was burned as a heretic by the catholic church in 1706.

antonianism had tens of thousands of adherents, even after kimpa vita's death, and they were a significant political force of kongolese unity and power in the face of portuguese colonialism.

[tasmiq]

Jumu'ah Sohbet: 19 July 2024

It was a week of being gobsmacked with a flash of the obvious, retrospectively! I have been rather sheepish about being an unemployed accident survivor, and I was made to contend with the Truth of matters. I had all the answers to my future quandaries in the past 😅 I was even able to discern between my heart's message vs. my nafs on the same matter, Subhana'Allah! (Divine glory) This is where I humble myself out of sheer gratitude that I can shut my nafs up, when (gently) reprimanded by your Wakil Abbu, whom I have accepted as the other half of my deen: Shukran Ya Allah! (Divine gratitude)

Here I go, with a sheepish Bismillah 👀:

#1. The first flash of the obvious from my near past was when your Wakil Abbu was funnily reprimanding himself, as us, about our role as murids (Sufi students). This was beyond our bayat (oath of allegiance), respecting Allah's rights and wrongs, and our Silsila (spiritual chain), and fulfilling our daily assignment and tithes:

i. As Ansaris, we naturally incline towards being helpers in humanity. We must make ourselves available for service and be conscious and observant of the workload and level of need.

ii. Beyond serving our families and communities, we must do so within our Tariqa.

iii. We must serve with adhab (respect) in our assigned tasks with a smile, willingness, and gratitude!

iv. Our service must be implemented with dignity and beauty as a place of learning and not as grind work.

v. We can never compare our service, as all the parts represent different aspects of spiritual development.

This is where your Abbu spelled out our collective haq (truth), albeit sheepishly. What being in our Sufi Tariqa has done for us has been manifold because we are where we are because of it; with love, light, and beauty. Shaykh Taner rightly proclaimed that this place is one of solace as an oasis with all the turbulence in the world in the background. Your Wakil Abbu ended with immense wisdom when he pointed out that we must not unconsciously attend Zikrs and socials and lead our lives without being integrated into who we are!

#2. Next, I was blown away by the enormous level of EQ (emotional quotient or intelligence) within Sufism, where it can accurately account our Sufi journey through the various levels of nafs (lower-self / ego) and Anne painted even more possibilities. She explained that as we are going through the nafs journey, we will have certain experiences, often related to these levels. This is what Allah is showing us, and there is more as we go up and down these nafs levels. Allah wouldn't show us something that is not possible spiritually.

It is useful to know the levels of the nafs and what attributes we should be striving for. The eyes of the heart have a big and small eye, which is the place where we perceive from. One for this worldly realm and one for the spiritual realm. So, how can we reach contentment in our lives, she enquired? There are different levels of the nafs where we will have different experiences. To my relief, she added that we can have a contentment stage at every nafs level, but how do we get there? The scientific merits of gratefulness have actually been proven, she declared as a spiritual boffin! When we give thanks to someone, our chemical makeup helps both ourselves and the recipient of the gratitude. However, we easily forget to be in a state of gratefulness! When we do anything, with connection and gratefulness, they are truly the easiest things to bring to our lives.

Timeously, as we approached Ashura (the 10th day) in Muharram (Islamic New Year), she intriguingly added that the Islamic concept of a new year is where in the first 10 days, we are immediately inclined to do a lot of prayers and turn to Allah. Not with half-hearted new year resolutions! We ask Allah to renew us and for the new year to be good for us. Our deen (religion) is live where we are connected to the sun, moon, nature, and everything around us! We have the moon and sun calendar, which direct our annual timescales and daily prayer times. Now that I think of it, your Mimi (maternal Aunt) has always lovingly prescribed to the Islamic calendar over the Gregorian one, which we should too 😉

#3. Your Aunty and our Rosieçim (Sister Rosie) graciously answered Anne's inquiry into identifying our sources of contentment, confirming why we're spiritual family because she articulated what we were baffling to express. She said that it has been easy to find contentment after changing her perception from the small eye to the big Eye and to see that side of things, here and now. So, she was able to declare that she could find contentment in every moment, as long as she was paying attention! 😅 I would add that we find contentment in our never-ending spiritual learning that consolidate those moments with deeper understanding.

However, when you are in despair, doom, and gloom because of terrible circumstances that are facing your world, sure, it helps to pray, but seeing everything so sad is not helpful! Just as your Ammu realised regarding the genocide unfolding in Gaza. We actually have to stop ourselves and notice positive things, too. Anne affirmed that while we acknowledge the challenges; we must remember that it is Allah's world, and He will provide help for its beings, and we have to but surrender to that. True sympathy, true empathy, and true help all come from our perceptions of how Allah wants us to look at challenges. As Rosieçim was pointing out, we have to bring the little eye and big Eye into the pesent moment!

In conclusion, when we meet trouble; we must always remember that there are two ways to look at it, with negativity and positivity. Just as you get scratched by our kitties, yes, it is painful in the moment, but despite the occasional upset, we are so grateful for them! And newsflash family, your Ammu serves the greatest Employer of all and able to dedicate herself to endless spiritual learning of His reality because of her circumstance:

Ya 'Alim Ya Hakim Ya Haq Ya Rashid (The All-knowing One full of wisdom and truth who calculatingly guides)

Shukran Ya Allah!

[best-habsburg-monarch]

Greetings descendants!

It is with great sorrow (I say, cackling) that I must inform you that you have been dethroned by the Hungarian Diet. Your replacement hasn't been voted into office yet; in fact, it's a subject of an ongoing election (https://www.tumblr.com/rulers-of-hungary-tournament/737340971165106176/bonus-poll-they-were-kings-in-our-hearts-if-your) held by the Diet. Afterwards, all of your monarchs claiming the Hungarian throne concurrent with and after the chosen successor will be declared foreign usurpers, and country after either 1526 or 1711 (again, depending who is voted into office) proclaimed to have been In Shackles and Not Actually Hungary untill the partial restoration of our independence in 1867.

We have deemed it necessary after the snubbing of the man responsible for the partial restoration of said independence (however self-serving motives might've been) have definitely convinced us this dynasty never cared for us, has never respected us as equals and has never done anything for us, ever, that a chosen successor wouldn't have done better. It is also abundantly clear that this bracket is being held hostage by the Czechs, which we perceive as a betrayal from our dear friends with whom we shared several monarchs.

We shall rescend this declaration if, and only if, this dynasty is willing to offer us an olive branch by voting Erzsébet (known to friends, among which we count ourselves, as Sisi) the Best Glamorous Consort or whatever. Though German by birth, her heart was more Hungarian than any of the alleged "kings of Hungary" your dynasty has spawned.

(Why yes this IS basically just a very long-winded Sisi propaganda. And the János Zápolya vs Ferenc Rákoczi poll endorsement. Because we'd be remiss to pass the opportunity to advertise Best Anti-Habsburg minigame on the Best Habsburg page.)

-regards, Duchess Of Nyitra

Vote Erzsebet (Sisi) to appease the Hungarian diet.

Our tempestuous friends - brave men of Hungary - you may be called upon again in the next round to defend Maria Theresa as you so valiantly did against Friedrich II.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Jonestown Massacre

The Jonestown massacre was, before 9/11, the largest single incident of intentional civilian death in American history. More than 900 people died, many children. It was also a devastating cultural trauma: the end of the last strains of a certain kind of 1960s idealism and 1970s radicalism. Jonestown’s legacy lives on in the ironic phrase “drink the Kool-Aid”. (In actuality it was Fla-Vor-Aid.)

Although he would later become a symbol of the darker side of the west coast counterculture, Jim Jones was born to a poor family in Indiana. Described as an intelligent and strange child, Jones was instinctively attracted to religion, especially charismatic Christian traditions like Pentecostalism. He cut his teeth as a street preacher, and was, unusually for the time and place, a passionate advocate for racial equality. Jones’s idiosyncratic blend of evangelical Christianity, New Age spirituality and radical social justice attracted an enthusiastic following. He called his burgeoning church the Peoples Temple.

Although Jones’s followers would later be stereotyped as sinister, brainwashed idiots, the journalist Tim Reiterman argues in his seminal book on the subject that many were “decent, hardworking, socially conscious people, some highly educated”, who “wanted to help their fellow man and serve God, not embrace a self-proclaimed deity on earth”. The Peoples Temple advocated socialism and communitarian living and was racially integrated to an exceptional standard rarely matched since.

In 1965, when Jones was in his mid-30s, he ordered the Peoples Temple moved to California. He drifted away from traditional Christian teachings, describing himself in messianic terms and claiming he was the reincarnation of figures like Christ and Buddha. He also claimed that his goal all along was communism, and, in a twist on the famous dictum that religion is the “opiate of the masses”, that religion was merely his way of making Marxism more palatable.

By the 1970s, the Peoples Temple, now based in San Francisco, had gained significant political influence. Jones’s fierce advocacy for the downtrodden earned him the admiration of left-wing icons like Angela Davis and Harvey Milk and the support of groups like the Black Panthers – a tragically misguided political affinity, given that more than two-thirds of Jonestown’s eventual victims were African American.

There were signs, however, of a sinister undercurrent to the Peoples Temple. Followers were expected to devote themselves completely to the church’s utopian project: they turned over their personal wealth, worked long hours of unpaid labor for the church and often broke contact with their families. They were expected to raise their children within the commune. As a show of commitment, Peoples Temple members were asked to sign false testimonials that they had molested their children, which the church kept for potential blackmail.

In his 1980 study of Jonestown, the writer Shiva Naipaul, younger brother of VS Naipaul, argued that the Peoples Temple was at heart a fundamentalist religious project – “obsessed with sin and images of apocalyptic destruction, authoritarian in its innermost impulses, instinctively thinking in terms of the saved and the damned”.

The result, Naipaul wrote, “was neither racial justice nor socialism but a messianic parody of both”.

Jones, who had long believed the US was in danger of imminent nuclear holocaust, had been searching for a place where his church would be “safe” during an apocalyptic event. A magazine article alleging abuse in the Peoples Temple spurred Jones’s desire to relocate. He chose Guyana, a former British colony in South America whose socialist regime was politically sympathetic.

In 1977 the Peoples Temple moved its headquarters to a remote area of Guyanese wilderness. Here, Jones declared, they could build a utopian society without government or media meddling. Battling an oppressive tropical climate and limited resources, they began to convert the dense jungle into a working agricultural commune, soon known as “Jonestown”.

The church delivered Jones’s rambling monologues to Jonestown’s inhabitants by megaphone as they worked. In the evenings they attended mandatory propaganda classes. Jones’s writ was enforced by armed guards called the “Red Brigade”.

Jonestown had little reason to expect interference from Guyana – a “cooperative republic” whose government happily ignored signs of the cult’s authoritarian and paranoid bent. Back in the US, however, parents of Jonestown inhabitants – concerned by the strange letters, or lack of letters, they received from their children – had been lobbying the government to investigate. After a family in the US won a custody order for a child in Jonestown, paranoia escalated. The commune became an armed camp, ringed by volunteers with guns and machetes, threatening to fight outsiders to the death.

During the siege, Black Panthers Huey Newton and Angela Davis spoke to Jonestown inhabitants by radio patch to voice solidarity. Davis told Jonestown inhabitants that they were at the vanguard of revolution, and right to resist what she called “a profound conspiracy” against them.

Sometime during this period Jonestown began drills called “white nights”, in which inhabitants would practice committing mass suicide.

At the behest of concerned family members in the US, the California congressman Leo Ryan organized a delegation of journalists and others to make a fact-finding mission to Jonestown.

The delegation arrived at Jonestown on 17 November 1978 and received a civil audience from Jones, but the visit was hastily called short on 18 November after a member of the commune tried to stab Ryan. The delegation headed back to the airstrip, accompanied by a dozen Jonestown inhabitants who had asked to leave the commune, and escorted by Jones’s watchful deputies.

The delegates never made it off the ground. As they boarded the planes, their escorts drew guns and opened fire. They shot Ryan dead, combing his body with bullets to make certain, and killed four others – including two photographers who captured footage of the attack before dying. Wounded survivors ran or dragged themselves, bleeding, into the forest. (One of Ryan’s aides, Jackie Speier, survived five gunshots and is now a congresswoman representing California’s 14th district.)

Back at Jonestown, Jones announced that it was time to undertake the final “white night”. To quell disagreement, he told inhabitants that Congressman Ryan had already been murdered, sealing the commune’s fate and making “revolutionary suicide” the only possible outcome.

The people of Jonestown, some acceptant and serene, others probably coerced, queued to receive cups of cyanide punch and syringes. The children – more than 300 – were poisoned first, and can be heard crying and wailing on the commune’s own audio tapes, later recovered by the FBI.

When Guyanese troops reached Jonestown the next morning, they discovered an eerie, silent vista, frozen in time and littered with bodies. A tiny number of survivors, mainly people who had hidden during the poisoning, emerged. One elderly woman, who slept through the entire ordeal, awoke to discover everyone dead. Jones was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot.

[pulaasul]

Delusions VS. Ideals.

@66thpitstop​ Your responses to my post deserve to be a post on its own because damn you seem to be confusing delusions with ideals.

First let us define both words. 

Delusion -  a false belief or judgment about external reality, held despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, occurring especially in mental conditions. (source: Oxford Dictionary)

Ideals -  a standard of perfection; a principle to be aimed at.  (source: Oxford Dictionary)

Now, let’s place all your responses into this post.

When people proclaim about themselves, something that they are not, then they are no different than those delusional & egotistical villains. Both Daiji & Keiwa hate reality, because it affects their egos. They're no different than the likes of Kusaka, Mitsuzane & Kaito, in that regards, even if they claim the opposite.

When I'm seeing both Daiji & Keiwa claiming that they are saving people, when the situation proves them otherwise, then yes. They're delusional. When Keiwa claims that he will revive everyone who died in the DGP, while blaming Ace's mother at the same time, what does he have? Delusions. When Daiji says that joining Giff is the only way to go, when it was already proved that humanity can fight back against him (Ultimate Revice), then he is just as delusional.

Not only that, but let me remind you a quote from Takatora to Mitsuzane : "While the others faced their futures and moved on, you clinged at where you thought you found safety, and stayed there". The same goes for both Daiji & Keiwa. They didn't want to face their futures, straightforward, but instead, they got stuck to their own made-up world, built inside their heads.

and then my response to you for your first response. which got me your responses two and three:

Where did you even get them being delusional from their characters? In fact where did you get a lot of your claims in canon? Did either Keiwa or Daiji proclaim that they will be heroes to save everyone, they just declared that they're going to save people. By your logic, Emu is a villain, Sento is a villain, heck freaking Eiji Hino and Gentaro Kisaragi are villains. "hate reality because it affects their egos?' seriously where is this coming from?

Le’ts get to your responses now.

Keiwa’s ideal was for there to be no sacrifices for happiness, and naturally he wants for those sacrifices to be brought back, so his wish becomes reviving the DGP casualties. How is that a delusion?

So when someone fails to achieve their goals for one reason or another they’re delusional now? How is that a delusion, they simply failed at what they set out to do. In militaristic terms they failed the objective.

Academically speaking they got an F, it’s like you’re saying students who did not pass are delusional people and are villains.

Or are you talking about blaming Ace’s mother?  Let’s dissect that bit, shall we? I don’t have the time or energy to make an elaborate essay on dissecting that argument so here are the bullet points.

Keiwa learns how the wish system supposedly works from two shady sources: Daichi and Kekera.

Ace learns how the wish system actually works from confirming it himself, by which Keiwa is dead at this point.

Ace shares what he learned to Michinaga.

Ace does not share what he learned to Keiwa.

Keiwa is operating on the information he got from both Kekera and Daichi.

That information being the goddess uses the lives of the casualties, as fuel to rewrite the world. (the punkjack special debunks this, and Tsumuri confirms it in 39)

How is Keiwa to know that Mitsume is not to be blamed before the events of 39? The plot doesn’t even let Keiwa process what he learned from Win about how Mitsume probably isn’t at fault.

Keiwa is half right that Mitsume is not blameless in the whole wishing system but he’s wrong to put all the blame on her.

That is not delusional, that’s just called operating blind.

Now we go to 39, the post you replied was about Keiwa’s hesitation, how exactly does his hesitation paint him as a villain, the fact that he thinks there’s no point in joining the game when the goddess cannot atone for her sins?  How does that paint him as a villain exactly? How is that delusional of him.

If Keiwa was delusional, he’d have grabbed Ace’s collars and forced him to atone for his mother’s sins, but he doesn’t because he’s not delusional, as you claim him to be.

Let’s go over Daiji quickly, I did mention that Daiji was manipulated in the post that you replied to, its curious that you left that part out, when that was the whole point of him joining Akaishi’s side. He was manipulated because his factchecker, Kagerou, is absent from his life.

In short you’re confusing the word “ideals�� with “delusions”. Keiwa is an idealistic person, not a delusional person.

thoughts @rainixdra @acequinz @narashikari

[dailyunsolvedmysteries-movedd]

Jonestown Massacre

The Jonestown massacre was, before 9/11, the largest single incident of intentional civilian death in American history. More than 900 people died, many children. It was also a devastating cultural trauma: the end of the last strains of a certain kind of 1960s idealism and 1970s radicalism. Jonestown’s legacy lives on in the ironic phrase “drink the Kool-Aid”. (In actuality it was Fla-Vor-Aid.)

Although he would later become a symbol of the darker side of the west coast counterculture, Jim Jones was born to a poor family in Indiana. Described as an intelligent and strange child, Jones was instinctively attracted to religion, especially charismatic Christian traditions like Pentecostalism. He cut his teeth as a street preacher, and was, unusually for the time and place, a passionate advocate for racial equality. Jones’s idiosyncratic blend of evangelical Christianity, New Age spirituality and radical social justice attracted an enthusiastic following. He called his burgeoning church the Peoples Temple.

Although Jones’s followers would later be stereotyped as sinister, brainwashed idiots, the journalist Tim Reiterman argues in his seminal book on the subject that many were “decent, hardworking, socially conscious people, some highly educated”, who “wanted to help their fellow man and serve God, not embrace a self-proclaimed deity on earth”. The Peoples Temple advocated socialism and communitarian living and was racially integrated to an exceptional standard rarely matched since.

In 1965, when Jones was in his mid-30s, he ordered the Peoples Temple moved to California. He drifted away from traditional Christian teachings, describing himself in messianic terms and claiming he was the reincarnation of figures like Christ and Buddha. He also claimed that his goal all along was communism, and, in a twist on the famous dictum that religion is the “opiate of the masses”, that religion was merely his way of making Marxism more palatable.

By the 1970s, the Peoples Temple, now based in San Francisco, had gained significant political influence. Jones’s fierce advocacy for the downtrodden earned him the admiration of left-wing icons like Angela Davis and Harvey Milk and the support of groups like the Black Panthers – a tragically misguided political affinity, given that more than two-thirds of Jonestown’s eventual victims were African American.

There were signs, however, of a sinister undercurrent to the Peoples Temple. Followers were expected to devote themselves completely to the church’s utopian project: they turned over their personal wealth, worked long hours of unpaid labor for the church and often broke contact with their families. They were expected to raise their children within the commune. As a show of commitment, Peoples Temple members were asked to sign false testimonials that they had molested their children, which the church kept for potential blackmail.

In his 1980 study of Jonestown, the writer Shiva Naipaul, younger brother of VS Naipaul, argued that the Peoples Temple was at heart a fundamentalist religious project – “obsessed with sin and images of apocalyptic destruction, authoritarian in its innermost impulses, instinctively thinking in terms of the saved and the damned”.

The result, Naipaul wrote, “was neither racial justice nor socialism but a messianic parody of both”.

Jones, who had long believed the US was in danger of imminent nuclear holocaust, had been searching for a place where his church would be “safe” during an apocalyptic event. A magazine article alleging abuse in the Peoples Temple spurred Jones’s desire to relocate. He chose Guyana, a former British colony in South America whose socialist regime was politically sympathetic.

In 1977 the Peoples Temple moved its headquarters to a remote area of Guyanese wilderness. Here, Jones declared, they could build a utopian society without government or media meddling. Battling an oppressive tropical climate and limited resources, they began to convert the dense jungle into a working agricultural commune, soon known as “Jonestown”.

The church delivered Jones’s rambling monologues to Jonestown’s inhabitants by megaphone as they worked. In the evenings they attended mandatory propaganda classes. Jones’s writ was enforced by armed guards called the “Red Brigade”.

Jonestown had little reason to expect interference from Guyana – a “cooperative republic” whose government happily ignored signs of the cult’s authoritarian and paranoid bent. Back in the US, however, parents of Jonestown inhabitants – concerned by the strange letters, or lack of letters, they received from their children – had been lobbying the government to investigate. After a family in the US won a custody order for a child in Jonestown, paranoia escalated. The commune became an armed camp, ringed by volunteers with guns and machetes, threatening to fight outsiders to the death.

During the siege, Black Panthers Huey Newton and Angela Davis spoke to Jonestown inhabitants by radio patch to voice solidarity. Davis told Jonestown inhabitants that they were at the vanguard of revolution, and right to resist what she called “a profound conspiracy” against them.

Sometime during this period Jonestown began drills called “white nights”, in which inhabitants would practice committing mass suicide.

At the behest of concerned family members in the US, the California congressman Leo Ryan organized a delegation of journalists and others to make a fact-finding mission to Jonestown.

The delegation arrived at Jonestown on 17 November 1978 and received a civil audience from Jones, but the visit was hastily called short on 18 November after a member of the commune tried to stab Ryan. The delegation headed back to the airstrip, accompanied by a dozen Jonestown inhabitants who had asked to leave the commune, and escorted by Jones’s watchful deputies.

The delegates never made it off the ground. As they boarded the planes, their escorts drew guns and opened fire. They shot Ryan dead, combing his body with bullets to make certain, and killed four others – including two photographers who captured footage of the attack before dying. Wounded survivors ran or dragged themselves, bleeding, into the forest. (One of Ryan’s aides, Jackie Speier, survived five gunshots and is now a congresswoman representing California’s 14th district.)

Back at Jonestown, Jones announced that it was time to undertake the final “white night”. To quell disagreement, he told inhabitants that Congressman Ryan had already been murdered, sealing the commune’s fate and making “revolutionary suicide” the only possible outcome.

The people of Jonestown, some acceptant and serene, others probably coerced, queued to receive cups of cyanide punch and syringes. The children – more than 300 – were poisoned first, and can be heard crying and wailing on the commune’s own audio tapes, later recovered by the FBI.

When Guyanese troops reached Jonestown the next morning, they discovered an eerie, silent vista, frozen in time and littered with bodies. A tiny number of survivors, mainly people who had hidden during the poisoning, emerged. One elderly woman, who slept through the entire ordeal, awoke to discover everyone dead. Jones was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot.

[astra-galaxie]

“Not guilty, your honour! I was simply bringing justice to my family’s name after the disgrace the Flying Squad did to it!” - Justine Dawson

Biographical information

Full Name: Justine Dawson

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Status: Incarcerated

Age: 42 (season 3)

Birth: 1974

Race: Human

Nationality: American

Origin: Pacific Bay

Residence:

Concordia

Pacific Bay (formerly)

Profession(s): Lawyer

Family: Justine Lawson (indirect ancestor)

Affiliation(s):

Concordia Courthouse

Pacific Bay Courthouse (formerly)

Profile

Height: 5'5"

Age: 42 (season 2)

Weight: 153lbs

Eyes: blue

Blood: O-

Hailing from Concordia, Justine is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman who followed in her ancestor's footsteps and became a lawyer. In her debut, she wore a black pantsuit and purple-framed glasses.

During her suspect appearance in Death of Our Past, Justine had her hair pulled up into a bun, kept her purple glasses and wore an outfit similar to her late ancestor: a beige suit, a white dress shirt, a dark vest and a gray tie.

As per her suspect appearance in Death From The Past, it is known that Justine visits the opera, has read The Concordia Flying Squad: History of Justice, and drinks wine.

Synopsis

Justine is a minor character who appeared in Hanson vs. Savage and Death From The Past.

During Hanson vs. Savage, she served as the lawyer for Christoper and Yasemin Hanson in the custody battle for Ahmet Savage. Justine had a reputation for being vicious in the courtroom and hadn't lost a trial in over five years. Other lawyers feared going up against her, and clients wanted her to represent them. If they could afford her, that is.

Which meant that Justine was confident that she would win the trial against Adalet and Fili. So you can imagine the shock and anger she felt when Judge Dante decreed that her clients were in the wrong and took away their parental rights. Not only did she lose the trial, but her reputation plummeted to the point where no one would hire her.

Desperate to rebuild her reputation, Justine moved to Concordia, the first in her family to do so for generations. Now, in a place where people didn't know her, she opened a new law firm and began working again. Things were going well, and Justine was happy with her new life. Then, one day, she heard about a new museum that would be opening in the old Flying Squad airship to honour the team of investigators from the past.

Justine immediately saw this as a chance to redeem her family's name after it had been disgraced for so long. She submitted a request to have her ancestor featured in the museum for his work with the Flying Squad as a lawyer, judge, and city mayor. But to her dismay, her request was denied by Andrew Bontemps on the grounds that her ancestor did not deserve to be honoured, given the nightmare he had put Concordia through during his reign as mayor.

Getting that refusal letter enraged Justine. How DARE another Bontemps try and destroy her family name and her ancestor's legacy! Andrew's ancestor might have been a Flying Squad detective, but hers had been the mayor! Hers had ruled Concordia and was going to bring it into a new age of life and justice!

Justine would not stand for such disrespect. So, she stole Issac Bontemps's gun from the museum's storage and followed Andrew until it was the perfect time to strike. She cornered him on the airship and shot him in his heart, just as Issac had done to her ancestor over a hundred years ago. Finally, she had gotten revenge for the suffering her family had endured because of the Flying Squad.

But she would not get to celebrate her victory. Justine would be arrested and sentenced for her crime. For the first time in her life, she found herself on the opposite side of the bench and felt dread set in as the Judge declared she would spend the rest of her life in prison. But Justine kept her head held high and continued to proclaim her innocence, citing that she was merely claiming the debt the Bontemps family and the Flying Squad owed her for what happened to her ancestor.

At least people will continue to learn about the true history of Concordia and how the Flying Squad made it a better place. But if anyone wants to hear about the "true" hero of the city, they can visit the local prison and listen to Justine's ranting…

Story Information

First appeared: Smart Money

Trivia

Initially, she was just supposed to be a parody of Justin Lawson. But, it was suggested that I make her an indirect descendant (you know who you are!), so I found a way to make it happen!

Her surname, Dawson, exists because one of her ancestors changed it from Lawson to Dawson to try and escape the association with the Concordian dictator they were related to

She was the first person in her family to move back to Concordia after her great-grandparents moved away to escape the hate following their family

Frankly, I designed her with the purpose of her being a snotty bitch. I like to think I succeeded!

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames Mega Anime Avatar Creator! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad) Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad) Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad)

[ferrerkate]

ISRAEL VS PALESTINE

Before we proceed on our main topic lets take a look on the backround of the conflict between israel and palestine and when did it started.

It's started in october 7,2023 the group of palestine known as hamas (terrorist group) attacked people in israel by Rocket Attacks, Hamas has launched rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip into Israel, targeting Israeli towns and cities. These attacks have resulted in civilian casualties and property damage.

-They sabotage israel when israeli people attended nova music festival (marking the Jewish holiday Sukkot and touted as an event celebrating “unity and love.”)in the middle of the event they set a surprise attack on Gaza strip city.they been killing at least 260 people and taking an unknown number hostage.Later that day israel cabinet formally declared war against hamas .Netanyahu vowed to “crush and destroy” Hamas. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” he said in a televised address. that's where the battle between the two sides began.

RELIGION

One of the main causes of the conflict is religion .

-The majority of Palestinians are Muslim, including those living overseas. All residents in the Palestinian Territories are required to declare a religion on an identification card issued by the Israeli government. According to this record, 98% of Palestinians identify as Sunni Muslims.

-According to the country's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) classification system (2021 data), approximately 73.8 percent of the population is Jewish, 18 percent Muslim, 1.9 percent Christian, and 1.6 percent Druze.

-The main religion in modern Israel is Judaism, with 73% of the population identifying as Jewish.

>they have different cultures that affect their country to become one.they both proclaim that their beliefs are the one who can state the fact because israeli believe that .Extreme religious Zionists in Israel increasingly see themselves as guardians and definers of how the Jewish state should be, and are very stringent when it comes to any concessions to the Arabs. On the other hand, Islamist groups in Palestine and elsewhere in the Islamic world advocate the necessity of liberating the “holy” territories and sites for religious reasons, and preach violence and hatred against Israel and the Jewish people.In Jewish and Biblical history, Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel during the reign of King David. It is also home to the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall, both highly sanctified sites in Judaism.

BORDER

The Israel-Palestine border is a contentious issue. The borders are not officially defined, and there is ongoing conflict regarding territory. The main areas of dispute are:

-Gaza Strip: While Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it still exerts control over its borders, airspace, and waters, which has led to disputes over its status.

The Israel-Palestine conflict is marked by its complexity, historical grievances, and deeply rooted national aspirations. Finding a mutually acceptable resolution to the border issue remains a significant challenge in the quest for a lasting and peaceful settlement.

TERRITORY

Territory is the main conflict between israel and palestine because they are both claiming that they are the first people who live in the country one of their bases is Jerusalem; they claimed as the capital by both Israelis and Palestinians. The city is divided, with the western part under Israeli control and the eastern part, including the Old City, being a focal point of contention.

-The territory between Israel and Palestine is a complex and highly disputed area in the Middle East. It primarily refers to the West Bank, which is a region located between Israel and Jordan, and the Gaza Strip, which is along the Mediterranean coast. These territories have been at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for many decades.

RESOURCES

Israel has natural resources that essential for the country’s economy and development.here are some of their natural resources:

• Natural gas below the seafloor, oil shales for energy.

• Groundwater.

•Dead Sea minerals and phosphate for fertilizers.

• Magnesium and copper metals.

• some of the genius people are living in israel.

•they are known for intelligence.

•they are also known for high technology.

In other hand

Olive trees, grapevines, almonds, figs and citrus are the major types of fruit trees planted in Palestine. They occupy 90% of the total fruit tree area and produce 79% of total fruit production.

-compare to palestine israel rich in natural resources.

ORIGIN OF THE PEOPLE

•Much of what scholars know about Israel’s ancient history comes from the Hebrew Bible. According to the text, Israel’s origins can be traced back to Abraham, who is considered the father of both Judaism (through his son Isaac) and Islam (through his son Ishmael).The word Israel comes from Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, who was renamed “Israel” by the Hebrew God in the Bible.

•Palestine, area of the eastern Mediterranean region, comprising parts of modern Israel and the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip (along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea) and the West Bank (west of the Jordan River).

NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL

They sabotage israel when israeli people attended nova music festival (marking the Jewish holiday Sukkot and touted as an event celebrating “unity and love.”)in the middle of the event they set a surprise attack on Gaza strip city.they been killing at least 260 people and taking an unknown number hostage.

PRO ISRAEL OR PRO PALESTINE

Being Pro-israel i want you to know that i stand israel because base on the Historical Perspective:Point to historical context of ths establishment of Israel in 1948.Israel creation was a response to the persecution of jews and ths holocaust,providing them with a homeland.

"The Lord promised Joshua that the original extent of the land promised to Abraham was to be given to Israel ."

(see Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4).

"God of light and salvation, our refuge and our strength, We pray for the people of Israel and Palestine amid the escalating violence. We pray for those killed and injured by rockets from Gaza in southern Israel. May your rod and staff comfort them."

That's all thank you i hope you all appreciate it -your author.

[ultraericthered]

Pocket Monsters Best Wishes Season 2 Missing Chapter: Reshiram VS Zekrom!

With so much buzz going around about the lost chapter(s) of the Best Wishes! series having been uncovered, I felt in the mood to do a post about the missing chapter(s) of the Unova Saga, and I call these  “missing” because unlike Team Rocket VS Team Plasma!, they never existed. They were never planned, never written, never animated, voiced, or scored, straight up never concieved as episodes even when they would’ve been a natural fit for the originally intended longer runtime for Unova’s Post-League arc, and could’ve served as an extended grand finale for not just that arc but for the entire Unova Saga. I already wrote about it a bit here, but I felt like this warranted further elaboration on how such an event would play out, in the style of an authentic PokeAni two-parter penned by Atsuhiro Tomioka!

Oh, and this is just fast-going cliff notes, so you’re probably going to want to read this in Johnny Bravo’s voice.

PREVIOUSLY ON POKEMON BEST WISHES SEASON 2:

So in the previous episode, Charizard was fighting Reshiram at the White Ruins when Reshiram was under the effect of the Pokemon Control Device, making it a mindless slave to the evil Team Plasma.

Colress put Pikachu under the device’s control for the third time, but this time Pikachu’s heart didn’t waver even while under mind control, and its heart and Reshiram’s had an exchange via Pikachu’s shocks.

So Pikachu used Electro Ball at the same time Reshiram launched a Fusion Flare, both attacks directed at the Pokemon Control Device.

The device went KABLOOIE and got all busted up!

Colress was mortified, like how could this have happened?

But when Reshiram shook off the mind control, it was furious!

And Colress realized it was surpassing what he’d believed was its maximum strength potential that had been raised by the device.

Reshiram then fired a bunch of blue fire blasts down upon the ruins!

And then it took off into the sky, headed towards Dragonspiral Tower!

That episode ended with Reshiram perching at the top of the tower, with N believing that it was readying to raze the whole dang region!

TRUTH & IDEALS MEET! RESHIRAM VS ZEKROM! PART 1:

So that Ghetsis guy starts laughing madly at the turn of events, and he says he’d already prepared for this possible eventuality. He raises up his staff-cane thingy and it glows, sending some kind of signal.

From the east comes a flying sail barge, the result of Team Plasma’s  “Project F” - the Flying Freeze Frigate! A cannon at the bow of the ship is loaded with Never-Melt Ice from East Unova’s Frozen Ruins.

Team Plasma boards the Frigate, declaring they’ll get Reshiram yet!

Colress and his grunt squad are in charge of manning the cannon, while above deck Ghetsis is steering the thing with his cane-wheel.

Those two surrogate sisters of N’s are worried about Reshiram, while Looker and Team Rocket are more concerned with the Plasma guys.

Our heroes split up, with Ash, Cilan, Iris, N, and Papa Juniper taking higher ground in order to reach that tower as fast as they can!

Reshiram is powering up on top of the tower, but hasn’t attacked yet.

As Hero of Truth, N tries to talk Reshiram down. Seems to be wor…

OOF! Reshiram is zapped from behind by Team Plasma’s flying ship!

That evil Lord Ghetsis guy smugly proclaims that the last remnant of Colress’ Pokemon mind control technology is embedded in his cane!

Unfortunately it’s the prototype tech that just sends Reshiram into a wild frenzy as it takes off from the tower at full speed and strength!

This don’t seem to bother Colress, who says he’ll enjoy the hunt.

So Team Plasma pursues Reshiram, hoping to freeze it in place!

But back on the tower, Papa Juniper remembers oh yeah, he got the Golden Dark Stone and just so happened to be carrying it with him!

After collapses and uproars, the Golden Dark Stone’s given to Ash.

The stone recognizes Ash and Pikachu as Heroes with ideals worthy of Zekrom’s presence, so it summons Zekrom to their location!

[Cut to commercials]

We see this dark dragon with glowing blue eye gradually emerging from the storm clouds as lightning flashes like in BW01.

And there it is! It’s the one and only bona-fide Zekrom!

With a mighty roar, Zekrom charges up and takes off after Reshiram!

Ghetsis can tell from the lightning storm that Zekrom has appeared.

Oh! Zekrom caught up with Reshiram and is now trying to steer it right again. They’re over the Moor of Icirrus right now, by the way.

Uh oh! Team Plasma’s flying ship comes in and is firing its freeze ray!

Ash, Pikachu, and N are on Charizard while Iris, Cilan, and Papa Juniper are on Dragonite, and they fly over to the Frigate to stop it!

But it looks like those Plasma grunts on deck were ready for them!

And once again, the Plasma Liepards go on the offensive!

They even bring out the big guns, like this Metagross!

Team Rocket shows up on their jet packs, looking to settle the score!

Colress notes that Reshiram and Zekrom seem unable to come to any sort of compromise, and so they’ve started duking it out!

An uncreasingly unhinged Ghetsis vows that both Legendary Dragon Pokemon will be his, and with them, so shall the Unova region!

And here’s where we end Part 1, with the big fight in full swing!

TRUTH & IDEALS MEET! RESHIRAM VS ZEKROM! PART 2:

So Team Plasma’s Pokemon are engaged in all-out warfare!

And there are lots of EXPLOSIONS! BA-KOOM!

Back with the Dragon battle, Zekrom raises its power to the max!

Distressingly, Reshiram’s fire power and Zekrom’s lightning go together like flames to gasoline, creating randomized destruction!

Over in the Village of Dragons, the Elder and Drayden can feel it.

And so can Champion Alder and his new protege in the nearby city.

Back at the flying Frigate, Ghetsis opens up a hatch door to release his trump card - a Hydreigon with enhanced strength and brutality!

Iris’ Dragonite recognizes this particular Hydreigon and is enraged!

Dragonite and Charizard tag team against the enhanced Hydreigon.

Team Rocket has Woobat and Yamask come in to help them out!

But of course, it’s Dragonite who ends up landing the finishing blow!

[Cut to commercials]

At this point, Reshiram and Zekrom’s fight has moved further down from Iccirus, somewhere close to Entralink.

Colress is tired and frustrated now, wanting to put out all the stops!

The moment of Truth and Ideals arrives - Pikachu can feel Zekrom’s power resonating with it once again, so it sends some of its own super-charged electrical energy back to Zekrom!

Embued with extra strength, Zekrom lets out a large burst of power!

Which not only strikes down Reshiram but hurtles right towards Team Plasma’s Frigate just as all our heroes have gotten out of dodge!

Team Plasma ain’t so lucky, as they get hit by it at full force!

Ghetsis furiously raves about how all his plans are shot, literally!

So Team Plasma goes down with their ship.

And considering its work done, Zekrom departs above the clouds.

But Reshiram is still around, and from the look of it, still angry!

But what’s this? N steps forward to give Reshiram a good talking to!

And Reshiram actually seems willing to hear him out.

Team Plasma emerges from the wreckage of their Frigate. Ghetsis tries to use his cane, but the tech inside it has gone totally defective.

Ghetsis is breaking down as his loyal grunts say they need to retreat!

But Ash, Iris, and Cilan don’t allow them the chance to do so!

With Team Plasma out of the way, N continues his heart to heart.

He passionately says big words to convey the truth he’s found.

And Reshiram responds with approval. He is the Hero of Truth!

With that, Reshiram too departs back above the clouds.

N tells his sisters he wants to continue travelling Unova with them.

Later that afternoon, the police come take Team Plasma into custody.

Looker gives Ash and Pikachu his thanks for another job well done.

Papa Juniper is distraught over the loss of the Light Stone.

Until his team find him and tell him of new discoveries elsewhere.

Team Rocket flees the scene, glad to have once again witnessed what makes Ash’s Pikachu such a special Pikachu for them to nab.

Before he leaves with his sisters, N says his goodbye to Ash, Iris, and Cilan, precious and important friends who’ve changed his life.

Through a meeting of Truth and Ideals, Unova has been protected.

As the journey continues and stuff! Oh wow, that was something!

[dalekofchaos]

Heel Rock. High Chief Seiuli

The Rock turning heel was not planned and running with it is the smart decision.

Wanna know what they should do? Blend all of Rock's heel characters. Nation of Domination, Corporate Champ and Hollywood Rock into one and throw in TKO Board member and finally have Dwayne remind everyone. "There is only one true chief in this family and that is the High Chief SEIULI, me."

Did anyone else notice at the press conference that Rock's title High Chief is there, but Roman is not named the Tribal Chief? Because I fucking did.

The Rock is quite literally a High Chief in Samoa. The title was given to him by the KING of Samoa. I know y’all don’t understand the weight of that, but if that gets brung up in their build up, and they do it authentically, Roman literally is beneath him and the family has to do as Rocky says. The Elders included so … 👀 and also he was literally ordained. It wasn’t passed down. He Legit has the title.

Ever since the press conference, Rock has asserted his authority and Roman has become an underling to The Rock.

So here is what I think could be in the works. Rock proclaims himself as the High Chief and slowly, The Bloodline follows him. Not Roman.

Eventually The Rock recruits new members in the family. Jacob Fatu Zilla Fatu, and Lance Anoa'i.

Cody vs Roman happens. Except this time no one interferes. Rock calls off Jimmy and Solo and keeps away The New Bloodline.

Cody beats Roman. Rock berates Roman for failing and Rockbottoms Roman, while Jacob, Lance and Zilla lays Roman out. Jimmy and Solo leaves him and so does Heyman. Roman is out of the Bloodline.

The next night on Raw. Rock declares that Roman has dishonored The Bloodline and their family. A true Tribal Chief would never need the help and abuse the bloodline like Roman has. The Rock then anoints Jacob Fatu as the new Tribal Chief.

And we spend the year of Jacob reclaiming the WWE Champion, while Roman goes on a babyface run regaining his honor and redemption arc and it ends with Rock vs Roman at Wrestlemania 41 as the True Head of the Table.

[johninrags]

The old testament vs the new

In examining the Torah, we see God depicted as a masterful teacher, with His words as precise and purposeful as arrows shot from a bow, aimed to strike their intended targets. These divine arrows implant spiritual seeds within the hearts of genuine seekers, who then have the choice to nurture and cultivate these seeds. The Bible, or the Word of God, provides guidance and instruction for developing our spiritual lives. The Old Testament establishes the foundation and groundwork for God's creation, while the New Testament dynamically fulfills and expands upon this foundation.

The Old Covenant, or Old Testament, sets the standard for spiritual living, promoting good health and a prosperous life centered on God. As the Israelites learn more about God's sovereignty and holiness, they also become aware of their own shortcomings and are required to offer blood sacrifices at the altar for the atonement of their sins. Nevertheless, God promises to deliver the Israelites from their sins and provide them with a true king and messiah. The Old Covenant's purpose is to reveal how far humanity has strayed from God, with our sinful natures obstructing the lives God intended for us.

Romans 3:20 (NIV) states, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law, we become conscious of our sin." This verse highlights the main function of the Old Covenant: to make us aware of our sins and establish the foundation for the New Covenant. The Ten Commandments, outlined in Exodus 20, convey God's desire for us to prioritize our spiritual needs and recognize that we are spiritual beings inhabiting physical bodies.

In the 10 commandments, God urges us to turn inward and seek His eternal truths, cautioning us against idolatry and excessive indulgence in material things that could hinder our spiritual growth. By placing our spiritual development first, we open the door to receiving everything we desire in life.

It also emphasizes the importance of respecting and honoring God's name, as well as the power of our speech. We are reminded that our words have immense influence, and we must use them wisely. The commandment to observe the Sabbath highlights the need for balance in our physical and spiritual lives, dedicating time to both work and rest.

The final commandments address honoring one's parents, refraining from murder, adultery, theft, bearing false witness, and coveting. While these commandments may seem straightforward, Jesus explains in Matthew 5:28 (NIV) that even lustful thoughts are equivalent to committing adultery in one's heart. This demonstrates the strict nature of God's laws, which apply not only to our actions but also to our thoughts and intentions.

The Old Covenant serves to show us the extent of our deviation from God's original design, revealing the stark contrast between the physical and spiritual realms. Despite our shortcomings, God's love for humanity is unwavering, and He desires to alleviate suffering and create a world where all our basic needs are met. John 3:16 (NIV) proclaims, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The Old Testament, with its meticulous historical records and fulfilled promises, serves as the foundation for the transformative New Covenant. The ultimate blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ liberates us from the need for animal sacrifices and paves the way for a new world of spiritual growth and divine connection.

Jesus was born in the quaint town of Bethlehem and experienced a childhood not unlike others of that time. Intriguingly, the Bible offers no account of Jesus' life prior to the age of thirty, save for one incident described by his friend Luke. During a visit to Jerusalem with his parents, Jesus went missing, prompting a frantic three-day search. Ultimately, they discovered him at the temple, engaging in animated conversations with religious teachers and posing thought-provoking questions. After a gentle admonishment, Jesus accompanied his parents back to their hometown. It is surmised that, in keeping with tradition, Jesus may have followed in his carpenter father's footsteps before commencing his ministry at the age of thirty—the age at which an Israelite could become a priest.

As Jesus continued to teach and enlighten, he consistently referenced the Torah and the Laws of Moses to validate his lessons. His teachings attracted a substantial following of influential Jews and Romans, but also alarmed Jewish authorities who felt their positions jeopardized by rumors of Jesus becoming the King of the Jews. Desperate to convict him, they attempted to catch him in either legal transgressions or contradictions with their laws, only to be consistently thwarted by Jesus' authoritative and unassailable explanations. In many instances, Jesus corrected these men's flawed understanding of the law, speaking boldly and fearlessly to high-ranking officials in a manner that would have had ordinary men executed.

By challenging Israel's religious leaders and rebuking influential figures, Jesus sparked a revolutionary movement. Defying cultural norms, he offered compassion and healing to gentiles and unbelievers, providing hope and becoming a cornerstone for the oppressed. Undeterred by the turmoil he incited among authorities, Jesus continued to heal the brokenhearted and proclaim God's Word. He identified Old Testament prophecies and scriptures referencing his arrival, yet Jewish leaders' animosity and envy only grew, fueling their schemes against this widely revered teacher.

Through his tender yet commanding demeanor, Jesus laid the foundation for a new covenant, making disciples to disseminate the good news of forgiveness and the truths of both the old and forthcoming covenants. Though he performed numerous awe-inspiring miracles, his most significant achievement was the fulfillment of the old covenant, which he elucidated to the Jews.

Matthew 5:17 New Living Translation

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

It is challenging to grasp that Jesus' ultimate purpose was to sacrifice himself for the sins of the world, and even more unfathomable that such a dramatic event was required to fulfill the law. However, upon reflection, this pivotal moment in history reveals an undeniable divine design. Every aspect was meticulously orchestrated to etch this event into history and the collective consciousness of humanity.

The Passover, initially an agricultural spring festival, prompted the entire population of the kingdom of Judah to journey to Jerusalem. During this public holiday, the city teemed with jubilant celebrants commemorating their escape from Egypt. Much like a carnival or music festival, the city was alive with excitement and anticipation, especially as rumors circulated that the new king of Israel would appear. In this particular year, the bustling atmosphere was comparable to a popular holiday destination in December.

Indeed, the king of Israel arrived, welcomed by throngs of people who lined his path with palm branches and their own garments. It was a triumphant entrance reminiscent of a championship football team's homecoming. Jesus' miraculous deeds and teachings had spread far and wide, and he had become a beacon of hope for countless downtrodden and oppressed individuals. They chanted praises, celebrating his arrival (Matthew 21:9 NLT).

However, the festivities took a dark turn as the time for prophecy fulfillment arrived. The plot to kill Jesus came to fruition as he was captured, tried, and ultimately crucified, despite being found innocent by the Roman governor who presided over his trial. The tumultuous crucifixion was an essential component of God's plan, witnessed by the entire Jewish nation. Jesus' final words on the cross signified the accomplishment and fulfillment of the ancient prophecy and covenant.

John 19:28-30 (NLTSE) Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, "I am thirsty." A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

At that instant, a massive earthquake shook Jerusalem, and the temple's central curtain, which separated the Holy of Holies, was miraculously torn asunder. This marked the beginning of the new covenant established by God himself for all eternity. The tearing of the veil symbolized that all humanity now had access to God (Hebrews 10:19-25 NLT).y

The extraordinary events in Jerusalem had only just begun, as the people of Israel were about to witness a revelation far greater than they could have imagined. After Jesus' death, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, ordered Jesus' body to be placed in a tomb and guarded indefinitely. Both Roman and Jewish authorities were aware of Jesus' claim that he would be resurrected after three days, so Roman soldiers were stationed to secure the tomb. It is likely that Jewish authorities also sent their own guards to keep watch.

Despite various theories attempting to explain the mysterious disappearance of Jesus' body, he reappeared three days later, alive and well. Numerous accounts in the Bible document Jesus' post-resurrection appearances. On one occasion, he revealed himself to a crowd of over 500 people, allowing them to touch him to dispel their disbelief. A few decades later, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, reiterating the magnitude of Jesus' resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6 NLT).

The new covenant ushers in hope for the unification of all people, inspiring us to embrace individuals of every race under a single emblem. We can now proudly bear the standard of "forgiveness of sins," a beacon illuminating our spiritual journey towards an undiscovered realm, a standard that all can confidently claim as their own. The new covenant heralds our spiritual inheritance and unveils the origin of our existence. As warriors of the kingdom, we are no longer burdened by laws etched on heavy stone tablets; instead, we are graced with new, lighter laws inscribed upon our hearts. The Apostle Paul expresses this sentiment in a letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 3:7-10 NLT).

Romans 6:14 (NLTSE) reminds us that sin is no longer our master, as we now live under the freedom of God's grace.

The essence of the new law is straightforward: acknowledge the reality of God incarnate and accept His gift of "The Termination of Sin." Trust in Jesus and devote yourself to comprehending His teachings. While the concept of the new law is simple, its implications are boundless, and the intricacies of the new covenant surpass human understanding. The old laws, inscribed on weighty stone tablets, encapsulate the initial phase of God's creation, while the second covenant serves as the vessel for the continuation of creation.

If we pay attention, we will discover a law not only written on our hearts, but also evolving within them—alive and akin to a living, breathing organism. Recognizing that guilt and despair belong to the past, while joy, peace, and freedom are within reach, is the very essence of the ongoing creation, in which we all play a role. God is not idly observing His completed work; He is ceaselessly creating and permeating the elements of the natural universe as we understand it.

While everything in the material world evolves, the word of God endures eternally unaltered. Biblical truths hold relevance today, just as they did for past generations, and will remain applicable tomorrow and beyond. Like the renowned "blockchain technology," the Bible is the everlasting spiritual ledger encompassing all truths from the beginning of time to the end. The Word of God will always be the definitive guide for answering the heart's questions.

The Bible is an extraordinary book, and I encourage readers to explore it for themselves. As you turn its pages, you'll notice supernatural sparks that mysteriously materialize in your mind as thoughts or concepts. These fragments of light resonate with your heart and stir a tangible, real connection with the spirit. As you continue to nurture the spiritual seed within and exercise it daily, it will grow, and the sparks it generates will transform into ever-burning lanterns. Discovering a spiritual truth from the Bible is like learning to ride a bicycle; once you have developed your spirit's muscle memory, you will quickly find yourself delighting in a journey through the Garden of Truth.